Credit demand declines in September quarter

3:59 pm, Mon January 7, 2019

The demand for credit declined during the September quarter.

According to the Bank of Jamaica's Credit Conditions Survey Report released on Friday, credit demand, as measured by the Credit Demand Index (CDI) for the three months, declined relative to the June quarter.

The CDI for the quarter was 95.2 down from 106.3 in the previous three months.

The Central Bank says the contraction stemmed from reduced demand for personal and business loans.

Lenders reported that the decline in personal loans was evident in the demand for credit cards, debt consolidation loans and other secured loans.

The decline in demand in the September quarter was reflected in lower demand for local and foreign currency loans.

The Bank of Jamaica report says the fall in demand for local currency loans was mostly evident in the tourism, manufacturing, construction & land development as well as the distribution sectors.

The fall in foreign currency loan demand stemmed from the distribution sector.

The overall fall in local and foreign currency credit demand reflected a decline for credit by micro and small businesses.